"Sorenson Building, Estelle Stair Gallery" by Ed Fickett

Print, 1985

Ed Fickett retired to Rockport after 25 years working in the aviation industry where he did innovative design work for companies including Boeing on the C5 and 747s.   He graduated from the American School of Commercial Art in Dallas and spent his retirement painting, teaching and managing the Downtown Potpourri Gallery with his wife Joyce.  He and his students created the WARTS, the Watercolor Artists of Rockport Texas, exhibiting their work around the area, including at the art center.  His iconic print in the auction captures the long-time legacy of the Sorenson Building and its use as the Estelle Stair Gallery, one of the first homes of the Rockport Art Association.

Estelle Stair was a longtime Rockport artist, teacher and gallery owner of the eponymous Estelle Stair Gallery, home to the Rockport Art Association for many years.   She was a tireless volunteer, advocate and symbol of the art colony, teaching thousands of students with her “paint-alongs” of classic coastal scenes like sand dunes.

Size 17 1/2" x 28 1/2"